A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in South Africa, Mr Bola Babarinde, yesterday said President Bola Tinubu should fish out accomplices of the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu.
Babarinde, also the deputy director of the Sanwo-Olu/Hamzat Campaign Council, Diaspora Directorate, in a statement in Lagos, commended Tinubu for suspending the embattled Minister.
The President had on Monday suspended Edu over the alleged transfer of N585m into a private account.
“I want to commend the president for his actions so far on corruption; zero tolerance policy, which will help Nigeria. This will help our image and encourage investment inflow.
“The president should not relent on fishing out those bad eggs in his administration that are bent on tarnishing his image
“President Bola Tinubu should deploy a robust ICT system to channel payments directly to beneficiaries of his palliatives.
“Such novel innovation should be explored without further delay, enough excuses to steal funds meant for millions of downtrodden and vulnerable Nigerians by a few corrupt officials.
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“This case must not be allowed to drag unnecessarily in any way as it would determine how this administration would be portrayed in the fight against corruption,” Babarinde said.
The diaspora chieftain noted that the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the Tinubu-led government was derived from the aspiration of Nigerians for a better country.
He recounted that this was actually to relive the dashed hopes of Nigerians since the Hope 93 campaign of Chief MKO Abiola’s bid for the presidency.
Babarinde said that the agenda played a vital aspect in influencing the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in favour of APC and its candidate, Tinubu.
“Most Nigerians had lost hope in successive governments for failing them as corruption is our bane, we swim in this deadly virus and gradually consuming us into extinction as a sane society.
“The number of money people are stealing and publishing every day is mind-blowing which sometimes looks like fiction,” he said.
The APC chieftain noted the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 election based on his antecedent as a champion of anti-corruption.
“It was the mantra of Renewed Hope that brought this very young administration to power and it now seems some individuals are bent on putting more efforts to derail it by circumventing the system to enrich themselves at all cost. These impurities are an albatross to the present administration.
“With recent allegations and revelations of misconduct in the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA), it seems hope is gradually being eroded and lost in our country if decisive actions are not taken to reverse the trend,” he said.
He equally lauded Tinubu for suspending the Director of NSIPA, Halima Shehu, to allow for proper investigation and especially for the obvious reason of championing integrity in the ministry.
Babarinde said, “The youths of this great country are being let down by these two individuals if finally found guilty.
“Whoever is found guilty, no matter how highly placed and any party or interest that wants to interfere with these cases should be exposed.
“This administration should not be dragged into the mud, we cannot afford these scandals to avoid Nigerians losing hope in the President.
“When individuals involved are dealt with, there must be an urgent need to upgrade and be serious about fixing our system and lay premium on enforcement of laws and improvement on the existing ones with loopholes which make them easy to circumvent.”
*Don’t conclude yet on allegations against embattled minister, APC govs urge Nigerians
Meanwhile, governors of the ruling APC urged Nigerians to wait for the outcome of the ongoing EFCC investigations of the allegations against Betta Edu.
The Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) has urged Nigerians not to jump to conclusions on the allegations of corruption against the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Betta Edu.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who is the chairperson of the PGF, the umbrella body of serving APC state governors, addressed journalists after a meeting of the forum in Abuja early Thursday.
Speaking for the forum, Uzodinma urged Nigerians to wait till the end of the ongoing investigations before concluding on the allegations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Uzodinma as saying that the functions of government included encouraging good things and good appointees and discouraging bad things and bad appointees, the case against Edu was just an allegation.
“And in the wisdom of the President, she is being investigated. It is after the investigation is concluded and the report made available to the government that it will take a final decision,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu had on Monday suspended Edu following a N585m scandal that has attracted widespread comments.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on the directive of the president, has swung into a probe of the allegations. The agency grilled her for hours on Tuesday.
The Imo State governor said Nigerians should not be in a hurry to conclude her case until investigations are over.
Uzodinma also assured of the implementation of the policies of President Bola Tinubu-led federal government at the grassroots and better welfare for Nigerians.
He said the governors were determined to ensure security in the country.
“We have agreed on how best to support our party, President Bola Tinubu, and his government and get his policies down to the grassroots.
“We agreed on how to support the president to maximise the benefits of his policies, we are united in ensuring that we take his policies to the grassroots,” he said.
He added that as sub-national leaders, the governors were poised to ensure that the country was secured, saying that they were also working to provide adequate welfare to Nigerians.
On the forthcoming off-season elections in Ondo and Edo states slated for November, Uzodinma said the APC was prepared to go into any election anytime.
